Hayley bravely completed a sponsored skinny dip to raise an amazing £681.25 for Blood Cancer. Here's her story:

"In September 2023, I saw an event being held at a local lake where I open water swim weekly. It was a skinny dip in aid of Breast Cancer Now. I wanted to take part, and I also convinced one of my best friends to join me. We paid our entry fee (which was donated to Breast Cancer Now) and awaited in nervous anticipation of the naked swim in the lake! (I was more nervous of the 6am start at the lake if I’m honest, but nervous none-the-less).

Both my friend and I have sadly lost one of our parents to a form of blood cancer; my friend lost her mum in her early 20s to Non-Hodgekin Lymphoma, and I lost my dad at 35 to atypical Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. We both knew the heartache of losing a parent too soon to this awful group of illnesses, and wanted to support research into these, so we decided to see if we could do our own fundraising for Blood Cancer UK instead.

Joined by another 97 likeminded ladies, we successfully completed the skinny dip on 01 September. Some were breast cancer, or other cancer survivors, and wore their scars proudly on the day! It was a wonderful feeling to be part of such an inclusive group of people, with zero judgement – just the laughter and happiness of swimming around in the buff!

The event raised over £2,700 for Breast Cancer Now. My friend and I also managed to raise £400 personally for Blood Cancer UK. I applied for Kier Match Funding for my part of the fundraising, and alongside this and Gift Aid, we raised an incredible £681.25 – just for taking our clothes off for a swim!

If you are taking part in an event, please do apply to the Kier Foundation for Match Funding. It’s quick and easy – and your good cause will receive extra cash for your efforts. You can even say your employer will match people’s donations, so they feel like they have given even more to your cause!